LAFCO Gets Some Laughs and Looks at Isla Vista

Saturday, December 6, 2014

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A discussion about whether or not to support Assemblymember Das Williams’s latest bill — which would create a Community Service District in the densely populated town of Isla Vista — proved to be respectful, informative, and mildly entertaining at a LAFCO (Local Agency Formation Commission) meeting on Thursday.

Though it was noted that LAFCO — which is made up of reps from the Board of Supervisors, city councils, and special districts — is the traditional avenue by which a community service district would be set up, Williams argued utilizing state legislation could offer more flexibility in how the district operates. While some expressed frustration that the legislation was not shown to the LAFCO board earlier, Williams emphasized the bill is just a shell and will be amended after several months of intense dialogue.

Paul Wellman

Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr supports the bill to create a Community Service District in Isla Vista.

Public comment saw a diverse mix of people who mostly voiced support for the bill and called for change to the status quo. Longtime activist Lanny Ebenstein argued that a population that makes up 10 percent of the south county does not get 10 percent of the services. Others argued that the problems in Isla Vista will not go away without more resources, and that recent tragedies — gang rapes, riots, and mass murder — warrant swift action. Isla Vista falls in the county’s third district and is currently represented by the Isla Vista Recreation and Park District, but that district is limited in scope and lacks funding. A community service district could be represented by a mix of elected and appointed boardmembers who are able to levy taxes on Isla Vista residents and use the funds to augment law enforcement or install more sidewalks, for instance.

Supervisor Doreen Farr — who represents Isla Vista and also sits on LAFCO — supports the bill because it would create a hybrid model of government that could support the diverse town of students, families, and long-term residents. Though Farr has been able to secure $30 million in funding in the past few years to spruce up IV’s downtown area and install lights on dark streets, the town has more needs, she said. Isla Vista is essentially a city, Farr said, adding, “We’re trying to manage a city that’s always had tremendous needs that have outstripped our ability.”

Though proponents say that now is the necessary time for change, Isla Vista Property Owners Association Chair Chuck Eckert, questions that logic. “[We’re] not going to support a proposal just because something has to happen,” Eckert said. He added that the solution is not to create a community service district and then find problems. “It’s like a windshield looking for a bug.”

Paul Wellman

The December meeting of LAFCO talks about self governance in Isla Vista.

In an interview with The Santa Barbara Independent, Eckert further posed the question: how would a community service district prevented a problem like Deltopia? “It wouldn’t have,” he argued. But ultimately, Eckert took a nuanced approach, and said he would wait until the bill is amended to support or oppose it. “As it is up there now it’s a blank check and we oppose a blank check,” he said, “but when it gets written out and amended, it might be fine.”

Defending the measure, Williams said this bill is a culmination of several conversations, but it’s also the beginning of one. The bill would not be finalized until March and Williams plans to hold intense stakeholder meetings over the next few months. It would be far more controversial, he said, if the details of the special district were already flushed out. LAFCO appointed an ad hoc committee — chaired by Farr — to continue the discussion, and the matter will return to the board in February.

I have a theory that money makes people stupid. When the thought of it enters ones mind, it shuts down the ability to reason. So the issue is all about collecting more taxes. Ridiculous. What's supposed to happen to the tax revenue that's already collected from IV? The county pockets it and the supervisors get more raises? Why would there be any need to have new taxes? I thought the issue was self governance.

This is why Das' plan is a farce, because it's not at all about empowering the citizens of IV, it's just a scam to get more money. IV resident's don't share the opinion that they need to be policed more heavily. Nor do they feel that Del Topia is the real problem.

Jarvis is right about government waste. Money in the hands of government is a waste. $250,000 for $25,000 worth of construction work. That's because it's a feeding frenzy of pigs at the trough. Setting up a new agency to collect new taxes is a huge mistake. IV citizens will experience this as a new mechanism of extortion and oppression, not empowerment.

Empowerment can only happen by organizing from the bottom up. No authority appointed by Das is going to empower anyone but the powers that be. Raising taxes, spending it on riot control.

Why is third district supervisor Doreen Farr getting a pass on this IV mess?

She needs their south country votes to get re-elected in order to defy the interests of her split north/south supervisor district. She obviously had no interest cleaning up any mess in IV that might have antagonized her primary voting constituency.

"While some expressed frustration that the legislation was not shown to the LAFCO board earlier, Williams emphasized the bill is just a shell and will be amended after several months of intense dialogue."

Actually, Jarvis, the city spends $565,000 on each bulb out.If you are gonna spread truthiness, why not go big instead?

And I am just shocked, SHOCKED that the rental property Overlords like Chuck Eckert do not want their local beholden tenants gaining power through self governance that passes ordinances and levies taxes.

"IV resident's don't share the opinion that they need to be policed more heavily. Nor do they feel that Del Topia is the real problem."

Corrrect!!

Anybody go downtown after the Holiday Parade last weekend? There was TRASH EVERYWHERE!! It was a complete mess, there was a major traffic jam in the streets hours before, but hey.. it's the Holidays so let people Holiday, right? I have no problem with it, I dealt with it and am really not complaining.. But I really hope nobody who went to the Holiday parade complains about the marathon or bike races downtown, fiesta or solstice and I hope they don't complain about Deltopia. Most people who complain about Deltopia don't even live in IV and it really doesn't even effect them. It's a once/twice (if you include Halloween) a year event, people brace themselves for it, others use it as an excuse to go out of town to visit family or go on a road trip... Then next thing you know it's over.. If they would just cancel the special noise ordinances so people out there actually have something to do and can expend their energy dancing and put out some porta potties and trash cans there would be very little problems most of the time... No need for the police to start riots..

Hey sillyloons, the HUGE difference between Fiesta downtown and douchetopia in Isla Vista is that the crowds are better behaved during Fiesta than douchetopia.Get your head out of your ether and face the reality. Oh, wait, reality constantly escapes you. Sorry, my bad!

Crowds are not better behaved during Fiesta, especially at night... the crowds, in generally, behave about the same... also if you recall there was a gang fight during 4th of July Fireworks, has there ever been a gang fight during Deltopia? I' would be more worried of a gang fight breaking out during Fiesta, not that it would stop me from participating.

Another point might be whether it MATTERS how people "behave" in Isla Vista.. as long as they aren't hurting people or destroying property, why does it matter how people behave if the community is generally ok with the behavior? I'm not saying individuals don't do bad things during deltopia, but individuals also do bad things during fiesta. You have to seperate the behavior of the community from the behavior of individuals. I'm saying the crows in general as a whole behaves the way most of the people in the community of IV wants them to behave - drunk and partying. Nothing wrong with that.

Do you really think that there aren't ever any fights downtown during fiesta? In IV when there was a fight during Deltopia, the cops used it as an excuse to start a riot.. So it sounds to me like the cops in IV during Deltopia were behaving worse than the cops downtown during Fiesta.

@John_Adams: "And I am just shocked, SHOCKED that the rental property Overlords like Chuck Eckert do not want their local beholden tenants gaining power through self governance that passes ordinances and levies taxes."

It's almost the Libertarian paradise the IVPA has always dreamed about having (if they could just get the rid of that pesky capital gains tax, they'd be all set).

Every Deltopia or Halloween riot plays right into the IVPA's plans to have an image of Isla Vista as an ungovernable mess. And it's worked, even as it continues to come at the expense of a violent student massacre every ten years or so.